Another rocky game on the road for Pryor

MADISON, Wis. - Terrelle Pryor said he went into a game last night at Wisconsin with the same mind-set he takes into every game - make plays - and he hoped it rubbed off on his teammates.

MADISON, Wis. - Terrelle Pryor said he went into a game last night at Wisconsin with the same mind-set he takes into every game - make plays - and he hoped it rubbed off on his teammates.

It did, but only after Wisconsin had jumped to a 21-0 lead before the offense and Pryor ever really made a sound.

He led a rally that cut the difference to 21-18 with 11:38 to play, but when the Badgers drove to a touchdown on their next possession, the Buckeyes were scrambling again, and they couldn't get it done.

"We had a chance - 21-18, we had a chance," Pryor said. "We just couldn't get it done as a team."

It left Pryor wondering what might have been had he and the offense been better early on, as when they settled for a field goal in the second quarter at the end of one drive. Then they squandered an Andrew Sweat interception moments later and watched another field-goal attempt by Devin Barclay go wide left.

"We've got to punch that in, along with the two times they stopped me in the red zone," Pryor said, referring to his runs on the previous drive. "Then we had a chance. It was 21-18. Team-wise, we just blew it. We had the ball with 6:55 to go, and offensively I couldn't get it done."

He was 14 of 28 passing for 156 yards - not stunning numbers. He also rushed for a net 56 yards but his net rushing was slashed by 38 yards in losses, including three sacks.

"This is hard," Pryor said. "I hate losing. I hate it with a passion."

Since he became the starter four games into the 2008 season, he has gone 9-2 in regular-season road games. But it has often been a rocky path.

The last time Pryor played here, as a freshman in 2008, he directed the winning late drive, capped by his 11-yard TD run.

That was his first start on the road. Since then, Pryor had been hit and miss on the road in the regular season. Going into last night, in regular-season road games Pryor was 112 of 191 passing for 1,423 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had rushed 141 times for 710 net yards.

But in his zeal to make things happen at times, he also had lost an astounding 237 yards on sacks and rushes.

His worst road game was at Purdue last year, when all of the Buckeyes seemed to miss the wakeup call in a 26-18 loss. Pryor committed four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) as Ohio State gave the game away.

But since then, the team had been on a 12-game win streak until last night.

"We let this one really slip by us," Pryor said. "I'm disappointed in myself and disappointed in general. I am really disappointed that we lost this game but it doesn't define us at all."